The Back Harlow Road • Stand By Me

Chapter Two "Incounters"

I'm not sure if it was the bright, eye bothering, sun or the annoying bouncing on my mattress that woke me up, but it was not pleasant. "Ah, what!" I exclaimed while sitting up slowly and tiredly.

"Get up! It's 7:00 already!" Ray shouted while jumping on the bed, until I swiftly moved my hands to catch his legs. He tumbled to the floor and groaned in confusion, I groaned in pain. Strangely I got a headache, while all Ray got was off the floor.

I know that 7:00 is very early for most, however my parents disapproved of waking up late. They believed that if you wake up late you miss most of your day, and that since we are becoming young adults it is necessary for us to wake up and do something productive.

I calmly approached my father sitting at the table reading his newspaper, I knew that he would not be happy if I woke up after he left for work. My father didn't work a blue collar job, as most fathers did, he worked in a office just outside Castle Rock. He made enough for my mother to stay home, as most of my friends mothers did also. He wore his button down white shirt, tie, and suspenders while he ate eggs that my mother had prepared.

I said a brief good morning until I went to have breakfast of my own. "So Constance, what's the plan for today?" my father asked, interested in my social life.

I sat next to him, my plate loaded with eggs, toast and bacon, and shrugged silently. "Clair invited Debbie, Mary and I over her house and then we are going to go shopping," I said slowly listing the things on my agenda today.

My mother came to the small kitchen table to place another plate for my brother "didn't Clair invite Stacey? I thought you were all friends?" mother asked confused and curious. "No, Clair and Stacey are not on the best terms right now," I said factually, remembering the dispute from yesterday.

My father laid out money on the table and kissed my head while standing up "this is for when you go shopping with your friends. Don't spend it all in one place," he commented, leaving for work. I grasped the money and thanked him while I rushed to the sink with my now empty plate. I quickly stomped up the stairs to get ready before I was late to Clair's, she would be very annoyed if I was.

Today was Thursday. I put on my yellow, which is today's set color, sundress and white tennis shoes. I pinned my brunette hair, identical in color to my brothers, back on both sides. I twisted them like all the other girls did and tied it tightly with a matching yellow ribbon.

I slid the money my father had given to me into my small, off white purse which I had received from a friend. I again went downstairs to let my mother know I was leaving, so she would not worry.

I only briefly noticed Rays absence as I left the house and walked the short walk to Clair's. She only lived five houses away from mine, down the street, which made it extremely convenient to visit her. I had mastered the art of memorization, I could easily recognize how to get to a certain place and back after only being there one time.

I climbed the stairs to her door and politely knocked on the white wooden door. Her mother pulled open the door with a wide smile, showing off her gorgeously white teeth. I returned a small smile as I stepped in the house.

"Oh Connie, you've only been here a thousand times. You know you don't need to knock," she joked and I nodded silently. I walked to Clair's room, which was obviously the one that held the screeching, squealing girls.

I opened her bedroom door that had a "no boys allowed" sign on it. As I stepped in a pillow came flying in my direction and I ducked while letting out a small scream. They all laughed as I sat next to Mary on the bed covered in pink and feathers.

Clair excused herself from the room and that's when all the gossip started. "So you know Gordon Lachance, Denny Lachance's younger brother?" Mary said and Debbie and I leaned in nodding at the unfortunately deceased boy "well Clair, Lando, Edward and I were walking on the Main Street by all the shops today and we ran into him and Chris Chambers," she said Christopher's name quietly as if she just said a swear word.

I nodded again to see if this story had any real meaning to it and she continued. "Well Lando and Edward thought it would be funny to mess around with them a little, you know rough them up?" she said and I rolled my eyes at the foolishness "well Chris took a swing at Lando's nose and broke it, so Clair is all upset because her perfect boyfriend broke his perfect nose," she mocked and we laughed lightly, but still were upset for Lando.

Everyone knew that Clair and Lando were dating, and they seemed to be everyone's favorite couple. Lando, short for Orlando, was debatably the most attractive boy in Castle Rock. And when Clair became the, debatably, most attractive girl in Castle Rock they started dating. Shocker, right.. Well not really.

It was the most predictable town in the world, everything was the same boring thing. That's what everyone got used to, boring. I didn't mind it, I liked having a set routine and not changing things up. Nothing did change, well until tonight when Ray didn't come home.